A Facebook Memory I’d Like to Share

He’s grown SO much since I took this picture. We had just moved from New Smyrna Beach to Naples. Starting a new school, knowing nobody, he was so homesick for the friends he’d left behind—Colton, Jackson, Mickey and Marcus.

He was the kid that was too shy to talk to anyone. He sat alone at lunch for a month or two, and was unsure he could make it here.

But slowly, he started joining clubs—Model UN, math club—and teachers started noticing him. He grew about six inches, lost about thirty pounds, and my little boy became a man.

Not only did he ROCK Palmetto Ridge High School, he OWNED everything he was a part of—Getting the highest scholarship from Model UN ($10,000), winning a place in the Student Diplomacy Corps and spending a summer with them in New Zealand, and finally, earning a place as one of the top three graduates.

At the senior awards ceremony and taking numerous awards with much more humility than I have writing about them, a mob of kids surrounded Joe, asking for selfies with “the Legend of Palmetto Ridge.”

He’s come so far, conquered SO many obstacles, and I am SO proud of him.

And when the school principal announced to the school that Joe got a full ride $269k scholarship to Dartmouth, I was the loudest mom ever, cheering for my boy.

He worked SO hard for so long, not only for grades and academic success, but to conquer the parts of an unpleasant, nearly tragic past that threatened to drag him down.

I’m taking this kid—this amazing kid—to Dartmouth in a little over a week, and I know he will change the world for the better!